Due to rapid advances in technology, there is an increasing number of portable communication devices used in a variety of environmental conditions. Since portable communication devices necessarily use a battery or batteries for operation, there exists the possibility of a spark being generated when the battery or batteries are removed and replaced. Accidental occurrences of short circuits or soft shorts of external battery contacts may also be sufficient to create hot spots with the potential to cause sparking problems in the field. When a portable communication device is used in certain locations, structures, or buildings having highly combustible environmental conditions it is imperative to avoid any sparking between the device and the battery that might result in an explosion and/or a fire.
Product safety directives have been established under various agencies and standards, such as Information Technology Equipment (ITE) Safety Standards (e.g. section 60950-1 covers limited power sources), Factory Mutual (FM) and ATmosphere EXplosible (ATEX), to address product safety. Devices operating under these directives or standards are also referred to as intrinsically safe devices. When developing an intrinsically safe electronic device for today's portable communication device market, a designer must provide a safe device while addressing the challenges of parts count, board space and ease of manufacturability.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to have an improved battery for use with an electronic device that ensures product safety using few components, taking up little board space and facilitating manufacturing.